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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School holiday reading

72 replies

sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 18:17

I feel like I'm going to get a roasting but DD is going to go into yr7 and she's been given a paperback to read over the holidays. I expect she will have to do some work about it when she starts school. The trouble is it is so boring it's all about football and tennis, things she doesn't enjoy. AIBU in telling her she's on her holiday and not read it , or should she just get on with it and just read it?

OP posts:
CalleighDoodle · 15/08/2016 19:11

At the start of year 7 children are assessed by the school to get a baseline and sometimes for setting. She could very well have an assessment in the first couple of weeks based on the book. Not reading the book would certainly tell the school which students should not be in the sets where work is most demanding.

champagneplanet · 15/08/2016 19:23

We're doing the summer reading challenge, that's six books!

Encourage her to get through it, it's very likely that she'll be set a piece of work on it and it won't be the last time she has to read a book for school that bores her and then has to write about. She'll just have to do it I think.

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 19:28

We will do it I expect. It was just the look on her face when she started reading the first few pages and it was all about a boy playing football and his coach thinking he was good. We all loath football in this house. So for her it's a boring book about an even more boring subject

OP posts:
JemimaMuddledUp · 15/08/2016 19:29

Isn't it twelve books for the library challenge? It is at our library!

The difference between that and this though is that the DC choose library books that they enjoy. Slogging through a book you don't enjoy is hard work (there is another thread running at the moment about whether you should feel guilty at giving up on a book you don't enjoy as an adult) but unfortunately while still at school you don't have much choice!

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 19:30

It's just that she's on holiday surely

OP posts:
WinterIsHereJon · 15/08/2016 19:31

It's normal to find aspects of school a little dull. I found my A levels dull at times, my degree, and my job at times can be dull. Unfortunately that's life; she needs help to understand that we sometimes have to do things we don't enjoy. You should be supporting her in this, not encouraging her to think she shouldn't have to do it because it's not exciting enough.

Mosschopz · 15/08/2016 19:38

My son reads through the holiday and he's 5, not about to start his final school years of education. So you don't like the theme..aren't there other skills to be acquired by reading books, even ones you dislike? With your comments about the school not collect homework and not caring what the teacher's views of you are, you sound very negative and more than a little antagonistic.

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 19:41

But the school didn't collect the homework my other children did in the holidays how does that make me antagonistic?

OP posts:
Muddlingalongalone · 15/08/2016 19:44

Sadly the curriculum has to appeal to a broad range of interests & perseverance is a skill that she will have to develop even if it's not interesting. Most jobs have an uninteresting element to them but that's life.
I think everyone has a book that they hate. Of mice & men for me - no matter how many times I'm told it's a modern classic I'll never read it again

PurpleDaisies · 15/08/2016 19:49

But the school didn't collect the homework my other children did in the holidays how does that make me antagonistic?

You don't know that they won't collect something in. You're risking your daughter looking stupid if she's the only one not able to participate in a class discussion.

It sends a rubbish message to her too. You can't just choose not to do work because it's boring.

ilovesooty · 15/08/2016 19:57

She's on holiday and has been given a small task to do. Do you seriously expect the school to be paying for an author to come into school and it not be necessary for your daughter to read the book?

You sound really negative and I suspect that's been conveyed to her.

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 20:00

I do try to be positive but I'm no actress

OP posts:
Kit30 · 15/08/2016 20:02

Old truck but a good one - you both read it in small doses and then quiz her about why she DOESN'T like it. Eg which characters are lame and why, is the plot realistic, would someone really react that way in that situation etc. She'll learn to read critically, which is sort of the point ( but no one tells you this st school) and she'll be able to contribute to class discussions with a fresh viewpoint. Takes 10 minutes a day discussing it over tea and 15 minutes reading before lights out. We've got through reading the 'oribble 'Obbit over the summer in preparation for Year 7 this way. And you've still got time to finish a book before bank holiday. Good luck

Kit30 · 15/08/2016 20:02

Sorry - 'old trick'

JemimaMuddledUp · 15/08/2016 20:04

Is this the only homework she has? Would you have the same attitude if she had a booklet of maths questions to complete and found them boring?

Treat it as a task that has to be tackled and encourage her to get on with it. How long is it? If it is 200 pages then 10 pages per day and she'll have finished it by the time she goes back (presuming you are in England or Wales).

My DC have practiced their instruments pretty much every day over the holidays. Some days they don't really want to. But they know if they don't practice it will really show when they go back in September.

lastqueenofscotland · 15/08/2016 20:07

YABU doing things you don't like is part of life, life may be too short for books you don't enjoy but want if she has a book she doesn't like at GCSE?

It's one book over 6 weeks.

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 20:14

Thank you kit30

OP posts:
Redsrule · 15/08/2016 20:18

Hmmmm, do you never expect her to do something she dislikes? Wash up? Tidy her room? Pack her stuff away? Life isn't all about doing the things you enjoy. This seems such a simple task and it will be noted if she has not read the book. We reassess at half term and I have to say this is something that would be noted, especially if the school have gone to the expense to provide the book, a significant cost.

Jizzomelette · 15/08/2016 20:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Kit30 · 15/08/2016 20:40

Your welcome, sonly
And OP, what's the book??

Original poster
sonlypuppyfat · 15/08/2016 21:20

It's called Unstoppable

OP posts:
d270r0 · 16/08/2016 07:27

"Unstoppable

If anyone understands the phrase “tough luck,” it’s Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing for the NFL is a long shot.

Then Harrison’s luck seems to change. He is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents—his new dad is even a football coach. Harrison’s big build and his incredible determination quickly make him a star running back on the junior-high-school team. In no time, he’s practically unstoppable. But Harrison’s good luck can’t last forever.

In his most dramatic and hard-hitting story yet, former NFL defensive end Tim Green writes about what it takes to be a winner, even when it seems like fate has dealt an impossible hand. Inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience, this unforgettable story shows a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable."

isanyusernamenotinuse · 16/08/2016 07:50

With all due respect she's going to have loads that she doesn't want to do in school. Then she's going to have tons she doesn't want to do at work or in life. Some things suck. We can't pick and choose everything and sometimes things are boring. She's old enough to understand that.

CoraPirbright · 16/08/2016 08:05

Ooh kit30 that sounds excellent!! I am going to remember that!!

On one hand, OP, I see what you mean - its the summer hols and I think kids need a proper break. Also if the book is dull then that is another nail in the coffin.

On the other hand, the school have said you have to do it so you really have to. Also, wouldn't your dd find it stressful to arrive back to school and find that the first few lessons/preps are on a book that she has no notion of? She would have to read it then anyway and in a far more time-limited, stressful way!

JemimaMuddledUp · 16/08/2016 08:08

I haven't read the book, but from the blurb posted above it sounds as though it will develop into a good story, and not just be about american football. If she sticks with it she might even enjoy it!

The first book that both DS1 and DS2 had to read for Y7 was Holes by Louis Sachar. The book sounds very strange to begin with, but they both ended up really enjoying it.

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